Trying to detox from street drugs

If you are trying to detox from street drugs, you really do not have to move to Death Valley or the Big Bend of Texas to get your lithium, and you don't have to convince a psychiatrist that you have bipolar disorder. Lithium is readily available from some vegetables (incidentally, grown in desert regions) that are inexpensive and readily available year-round in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Europe.

Lithium is particularly abundant in Irish potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers. It's true that the chenical solanine in these "nightshade" vegetables is associated with certain kinds of inflammation, but the lithium addresses a larger issue. Generally speaking, any diet that places more emphasis on fresh vegetables and whole grains (that is, wheat berries instead of wheat bread, cut oats instead of instant oats, corn on the cob instead of cornbread, and so on) is likely to provide lithium, but the nightshade vegetables potatoes, tomatoes, and vegetables are the best source.

Drug addiction does not result from lithium deficiency. Instead, lithium deficiency seems to result from drug use, whether or not there is true addiction. The amount of lithium provided by diet or drinking water is usually less than 1/10 of 1 per cent of the standard dosage used to treat bipolar disorder, but this is enough to enable changes in behavior in drug users who have resolved to detox.

The "munchies" after using drugs, by the way, are the body's way of fighting the depression that occurs when coming down from the drug. Eating lots of carbs and sugars increases the amount of sugar in the bloodstream. This "pushes" the amino acid tryptophan across the blood-brain barrier into the brain, where it is used to make the mood lifting chemical serotonin. If you continue to get the munchies even when you are not taking a drug, the problem probably is not withdrawal, it is depression.

The Alcohol Detox

For many people, the holidays are synonymous with too many sweets and too much alcohol. The combination of excessive alcohol and excessive sugar sets off a vicious cycle that can be hard to overcome.

The fact is, not everybody who drinks too much has much more than a hangover (but if you do have a problem with hangovers, more on that in a moment). Sometimes people who aren't used to drinking a lot deplete the brain's supply of an enzyme called tyrosine hydroxylase. If they are also packing away the holiday goodies, the brain's demand for the enzyme soars and there are three unpleasant consequences.

Drinking too much alcohol depletes tyrosine hydroxylase, and the brain cannot make the mood-lifting chemical serotonin as efficiently. When there is not enough serotonin, depression looms. Depression encourages more drinking, but because the remaining supply of the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase works better if the drinker is awake and physically active, the brain responds to other chemicals that keep you alert, and drinking causes both depression and anxiety. The liver tries to come to the rescue by clearing alcohol out of the bloodstream-by raising blood sugar levels. But if the holiday imbiber continues drinking, the result is not just drinking that makes you feel bad but also sugar cravings that makes you feel worse.

Thirdly, with cravings for both sugar and alcohol at work, it is difficult to get other nutrients the body needs. If all of this is happening over just one holiday week, it's not likely to have a catastrophic effect on your health (assuming you aren't involved in a car crash or something similar), but you can be left with the mother of all hangovers. So how do you begin to detox?

Even if you still crave alcohol, at least stop eating sugar. It can actually be better to pass the dessert table and go to the bar if you can't control both cravings. You'll still get a hangover, but at least you won't be dealing with the sugar crash that follows a sugar high. If you must drink, then no cookies, no pastries, no little candies, no pies.

Even more important is not mixing alcohol with a cola made with high-fructose corn syrup, for example, rum and Coke. The high-fructose corn syrup interferes with the production of a hormone in the fat cells, leptin, that tells your brain that you have consumed enough calories. Without enough leptin to tell your brain that you have eaten enough, and the general disinhibition caused by alcohol, the combination of fructose and alcohol keeps you drinking and eating more and more as you feel worse and worse.

Then there are a few supplements that help your brain make chemicals to compensate for the disruption by alcohol. The B-vitamin pyriodoxal-5'-phosphate, which is the activated form of vitamin B6, helps your gastrointestinal tract absorb the amino acids that the brain uses to make serotonin and dopamine. The supplement 5-HTP provides the amino acid tryptophan that the brain converts to serotonin, and the amino acid D-phenylalanine (which appears in supplements labeled as DL-phenylalanine) produces the "reward" chemical enkephaline. This chemical tells your brain "enough" and dampens cravings for both alcohol and sugar.

What Can Un-Do Your Detox from Alcohol

If you are a regular drinker, staying away from caffeine will help you stay sober. If your liver has been damaged by alcohol, it can't process caffeine, either. A physician-run study at Bromley Hospital in Kent, England found that alcoholic livers take twice as long to process caffeine as non-alcoholic livers. Caffeine combined with sugar aggravates anxiety and increases the urge to drink. Don't drink strong coffee to cure your hangover unless the bottles of your favorite alcoholic beverages are out of reach.

And, strange as it may sound, it's possible to perpetuate your hangover just by looking a drink. A psychological research team at the University of Pittsburgh found that just the sight of an alcoholic beverage reduced alcoholic men's reaction times more than the sight of a glass of water. Just thinking about drinking can keep you drunk. If you are having a hangover the morning after the party, put off cleaning up until you feel better, and turn off the television, especially any programs that feature advertising for alcohol.

Giving Your Liver a Break After Detox from Alcohol and Drugs

Your liver is not a moralist. It works equally hard detoxifying prescription drugs and illegal drugs. However, what commentators with an orientation to alternative health often overlook is the fact that the liver is not just a detoxifying organ, it is also a pre-toxifying organ. Some chemicals are not toxic until after the liver has processed them.

These include the over-the-counter pain reliever acetaminophen, which is the main ingredient in , the anti-cancer drug Tamoxifen, and a class of drugs for diabetes called TZDs (which is short for), including Actos and Avandia. As you detox from other drugs and alcohol and your liver gets healthier, some drugs actually become more problematic. If you are detoxing or in recovery from drugs or alcohol, ask your doctor about alternative medications.

Fortunately there are always alternatives, both prescription and natural, for drug and alcohol addiction and overuse. Your first step is simply to decide, at least for today, you are going to take control over your life and your health.